


From My Head Tomatoes

by loveandbeloved



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, No Smut, This is pure fluff centered around gardening, but it's implied
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-30
Updated: 2018-03-30
Packaged: 2019-04-15 02:03:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14149548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loveandbeloved/pseuds/loveandbeloved
Summary: “My Daadi will kill me if I let this plant die, but I don’t know what’s wrong with it,” Zayn mumbles as Liam’s eyebrows furrow while he intensely studies the tiny holes in the leaf.Liam hums, flicking his eyes up to meet Zayn’s gaze briefly, and then dragging them down Zayn’s body in a shameless once over that has Zayn flushing lightly.“Well we wouldn’t want you to die, now would we?” he asks rhetorically with a cheeky wink that does things to Zayn.Or:A shameless Gardening AU in which Zayn needs some serious assistance and Liam is the only man who can help.





	From My Head Tomatoes

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first installment in my endeavor to give people fics for birthday gifts. So, a massive (early) HAPPY BIRTHDAY to love-me-golden!! Thanks so much for this prompt, babe! I hope it's everything you wanted! x
> 
> Side note: I didn't edit this a ton so if anyone finds any typos, please please point them out to me. I appreciate any feedback that you are willing to give! Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy!

Zayn has decided that sometimes life really sucks, and it would be way easier if he could remove certain parts of it.

Just to name a few: tomatoes, mosquitos, his grumpy next door neighbor, invasive foliage, the sandy soil near his back porch, and the little invisible bugs that are munching on the plant that his Daadi gave him four months ago with a firm look that said ‘you are a grown man and you better keep this plant alive.’

She had left shortly after watching him pat the soil back in place around the base of the plant with a cheerful, “See you in a few months, darling,” that was somehow comforting and ominous all at once. Comforting in the fact that she’d be back for their annual end-of-summer family get-together, and ominous in the fact that if the plant wasn’t alive, Zayn himself may not be around for much of the annual end-of-summer family get-together.

It shouldn’t have been a difficult task. Water it a couple times a week if it hasn’t rained, spread some fertilizer over the soil every few months, and don’t run over it with the lawn mower. Simple enough.

Of course, Zayn didn’t take into account the fact that the plant living in the outdoors meant that it was subjected to the elements: Earth Wind Fire and, to Zayn’s dismay, tiny plant eating demons.

He first noticed little holes in the leaves of the plant a little more than a week ago, right after a thunderstorm, and he’d brushed them off as little more than wind damage. Unfortunately in the past week, the plant has deteriorated from a looking like a springy perky bush thing to a wilted used mop head that should have been thrown away years ago, complete with tiny brownish orange rust streaks.

His Daadi is going to kill him.

Zayn’s first instinct when he realized just how dire the situation was in the early afternoon (of his first Saturday off in weeks, no less) was to call an ambulance. For the plant.

Niall suggested that instead he just call an agriculture hotline or something of the sort before hanging up with a snort, but Zayn’s ever-present fear of sounding like a complete idiot during a phone conversation makes this option far less appealing

And it’s not that Zayn hates gardening. It’s definitely not on his Least Favorite Things To Spend Time Doing list, but it’s also not on his Favorite Things To Spend Time Doing list. It’s firmly on his neutral I-don’t-have-an-opinion-on-this-yet-but-odds-are-I-probably-won’t-like-it-if-it-requires-too-much-movement-or-any-form-of-exercise list.

The last time Zayn checked, frantically sprinting from his car to the nearest gardening store while clutching a mangled leaf is kind of exercise, but he’s a bit desperate.

He bursts through the door of the small gardening center, conveniently located a mere four blocks from Zayn’s house, armed with his tiny specimen, a bunch of pictures that he took of the plant from different angles, and all the knowledge that he absorbed from googling the issue. Plant Web M.D. was unsurprisingly unhelpful.

There are several customers milling about inside, pushing carts through spacious isles that are well stocked with everything you would ever need to use outdoors, but Zayn ignores them all in favor of quickly striding towards the front desk.

He slams his hand down on the small silver bell sitting on the counter next to a sign that says ring for assistance, and the bell chimes loudly.

“One second!” a pleasant voice calls out from the back room, and Zayn stares wide eyed at a cheesy sign on the wall that says ‘I love gardening from my head tomatoes.’

What kind of horror house did he walk into?

Zayn doesn’t get much time to dwell on the middle-aged woman style of humor before his attention is redirected to a surprisingly young man emerging from the back room.

“Hi, I’m Liam!” he greets Zayn, and Zayn is mesmerized by the duality of the man before him. He’s hard lines, bulging muscles, and broad shoulders on top of soft pink lips and kind brown eyes, wrapped up and tied together with a green apron and a backwards snapback covering soft looking brown hair.

“What can I do for you?” Liam asks politely when it becomes apparent that Zayn is not going to introduce himself right away, and a brief thought of ‘me’ crosses Zayn’s head before he smashes it down and reorients himself to the problem at hand.

Propositioning the hot gardening store guy is less of a priority than saving his own life from the fury of a scorned Daadi, and he repeats that internally a couple times before-

“I need you to save my life,” Zayn blurts out suddenly, taking Liam by surprise. Before he can ask questions, Zayn holds up the leaf in his hand and thrusts it in Liam’s direction.

Their fingers brush as Liam takes the leaf to examine it, and Zayn can’t help but admire the ink scrawled over Liam’s long fingers.

“My Daadi will kill me if I let this plant die, but I don’t know what’s wrong with it,” Zayn mumbles as Liam’s eyebrows furrow while he intensely studies the tiny holes in the leaf.

Liam hums, flicking his eyes up to meet Zayn’s gaze briefly, and then dragging them down Zayn’s body in a shameless once over that has Zayn flushing lightly.

“Well we wouldn’t want you to die, now would we?” he asks rhetorically with a cheeky wink that does _things_ to Zayn.

He isn’t sure how to respond to such a blatant advance because 1) he came here in a blind panic to save his plant, not to get a date 2) he wasn’t expecting the gardening store person to be a hot guy around Zayn’s own age, and 3) he wasn’t expecting said hot guy to actually be interested when Zayn probably looks like a not-so-hot mess at the current moment.

Still, Zayn knows to never look a gift horse in the mouth (whatever that means), and he musters his most charming grin as he roars back with a killer response.

“Nope, we wouldn’t,” Zayn says sagely, and Liam chuckles lowly, his eyes crinkling up in a way that makes Zayn want to pin Liam down and study the laugh lines pressed into the soft skin of his face.

“Well, I can’t say for certain, but my best guess is that the little guys doing the damage to your plant are small beetles called Vine Weevils,” Liam says slowly. “We have some pesticides here that you can add into the dirt at the base of the plant and they should clear up.”

Liam comes around the counter and quickly disappears down one of the many isles in the store, reappearing moments later with a large bottle in his hand. He gives it to Zayn, explain that he simply has to mix a small amount of the solution in water to dilute it, and then pour it around the plant.

“If you see any live beetles on the plant just flick them off. This stuff should clear up your problem in a couple weeks,” Liam concludes with a small smile.

Zayn clutches the bottle to his chest, holding on for dear life. “Wow, I really owe you one, mate,” Zayn murmurs, paying with his card after Liam rings up his total.

“Just doing my job- “ Liam hesitates, and Zayn manages to fill in the blank with his own name without stuttering or saying anything else dumb, so he considers it a success.

The way that Liam repeats his name, saying “Zayn” quietly with a small smile on his face makes Zayn feel like he’s won the lottery.

“Let me know if you need any more advice about your plant, Zayn! Or anything really” Liam offers kindly as Zayn backs away with his purchase in hand.

“I will,” Zayn promises, smiling as Liam calls “I’ll hold you to it,” after him.

***

It isn’t a conscious decision, but over the next several weeks, Zayn finds himself online looking up different plants that grow well in England’s moody climate. He stumbles across a very helpful website about gardening for beginners, and before Zayn knows it, he’s heading back into Liam’s store to ask for some advice with a small list of plants that he thinks he may like to include in his garden.

Liam is busy rearranging tiny gardening spades by color and length in one of the many organized isles when Zayn walks in and explains what he’s been thinking. Liam listens carefully, nodding along as Zayn tells him about the large empty flower bed near the back of his garden.

Liam is ecstatic as he guides Zayn around the stores, dumping seed packets into a cart before dragging him outside to pick out tiny tomato plants (Zayn doesn’t have the heart to tell Liam that he’d rather die than eat a tomato) along with cucumber vines.

“It’s best to grow the cucumbers in milk jugs actually,” Liam explains as Zayn selects a couple plants, stroking the velvety leaves softly before adding them to the cart. At Zayn’s incredulous look, Liam laughs, adding, “No, really! They like the stability of a firm container and everyone has milk jugs lying around.”

Zayn considers himself to be fairly bright, but for the life of him he can’t picture growing a plant out of plastic jug, and apparently his face reflects his disbelief, because Liam decides that the best way to explain it to him is to show Zayn.

In person.

At Zayn’s house.

Which is how Zayn finds himself in his own backyard, planting a small garden alongside the most attractive man he’s ever met.

Zayn had no idea that sweat and dirt and vegetables could be so fucking hot, but leave it to Liam Payne to open his eyes to the wonderful world of agriculture and manual labor.

Liam takes pride in showing Zayn the perfect way to plant the small tomato plants, giving them cages to climb for support, and he guides Zayn through the steps to plant the tiny watermelon seeds. Just deep enough that nothing will dig them up, but not too deep that they will be deprived of water from roots that grow overtop them and absorb all the water.

He brings over his own milk jugs and Zayn watches in fascination as he chops off the tops, pokes large holes in the bottom, plops the baby cucumber plants inside and then buries them underneath the loose top soil that they spread when they began the whole process.

Zayn is far more transfixed by the sweat running down Liam’s brow and the way his shoulders look broader because they strain against the loose fabric of the t-shirt he wears.

“You know,” Liam says casually, wiping away the bead of sweat that was threatening to fall into his eyes, “I didn’t think I was ever going to see you again. I kicked myself for not asking for your number a few weeks ago, to be honest.”

Zayn is blown away by the easy way that Liam lays himself out there, opening himself up to Zayn’s judgement without a care in the world. He’s clearly a very trusting person, willing to put his own emotions on the line on the off chance that Zayn won’t crush his dreams.

Zayn himself could never be that open with someone he doesn’t know, but Liam makes him want to try. To make an attempt to be as vulnerable and trusting with someone who doesn’t owe him anything.

And that’s why he softly admits, “I’ve thought about visiting you every day since then, but I couldn’t think of a good reason.”

Liam looks like he already knew, but that doesn’t stop him from beaming at Zayn, and Zayn finds himself grinning in return. Everything about Liam seems to be contagious.

They go back to working in a comfortable silence for a bit, Liam transplanting the catnip plant that Zayn picked out for the neighborhood cats that wander through his yard from time to time. Zayn watches the way Liam handles the plant delicately, careful not to apply to much pressure and risk hurting the roots, while firmly splitting the dirt to make room for the plant.

“Wait, does that mean you just wanted to plant this garden to talk to me?” Liam asks suddenly, and Zayn flushes at the smug tone of his voice.

“No,” Zayn protests weakly, and Liam shoots him a look that screams disbelief.

“Well maybe at first that was my intention but I didn’t want to make it _look_ like that, so I did some research and found out that this stuff is more interesting than I thought it would be,” his explanation seems to appease Liam, because he turns back to the task at hand.

Overall, it takes Liam and Zayn a few hours to get the garden in working order, finishing up just as the sun begins to set.

“I’d invite you in,” Zayn says as they rinse their hands off with the gardening hose, dirt swirling down into the grass below and pooling near their feet, “but you are a mess and I don’t want you on my floor looking like that.”

“But you do want me on your floor eventually?” Liam asks, the innuendo clear in his voice and the twinkling of his eye.

“The couch, the floor, wherever,” Zayn agrees, eyes lidded as he shameless scans Liam’s body. “I’m not picky.” The level of turned on he feels just from the sweat stains on Liam’s shirt and the memory of his muscles being kissed by the sunlight is probably unhealthy, but if looks can be trusted, Liam is in the exact same boat.

“I guess tonight I will settle for just taking your number, then,” Liam murmurs lowly, “and we can explore the rest of your house some other time. Maybe after dinner?”

Zayn thinks he may be in love, with both his new garden and the gardener that came with it.

***

It’s a sunny Tuesday afternoon couple months later when Zayn decides that he needs to get a bird bath for his garden. After all, the last thing he needs is dirty birds flying all over his yard.

Okay, so it may just be a weak excuse to go visit a certain gardening store with a certain attractive owner, but no one has to know other than Zayn.

He’s expecting the store to be quiet, because most people don’t rush to buy bird feeders and shovels at three in the afternoon on a week day, and Liam had mentioned that they usually get busier after five when people get off work. The scene that greets him is definitely not quiet.

Liam is standing at the front desk, a patient expression on his face as a tiny older woman speaks intensely about some form of hydrangea that she is wanting to put into the front bed of her garden under an oak tree.

“My daughter in law said that I should plant them around the side of the house so they can be in the sun in the morning, but she knows nothing about gardening. Lord knows my son married her for her looks, not her brains,” she huffs, rolling her eyes contemptuously.

Liam meets Zayn’s eyes briefly, and Zayn offers him a grimace rather than a smile, looking pointedly at the customer in front of him. Liam just shrugs good naturedly, and the woman is completely oblivious as she rambles on about how her daughter in law bought her the wrong handbag for Christmas the year before and practically ruined the whole holiday.

“But enough about her, I was just wondering if you have the flowers in stock here,” she says, looking at Liam expectantly.

“We do,” he nods with a polite smile, “but I do have to warn you that planting a hydrangea under a mature tree is unwise. They needs at least partial sunlight to flourish, and the oak tree will suck up most the moisture from the soil so you’ll have to spend a lot of time watering to stop the hydrangea from dying.”

“Oh, nonsense,” the woman scoffs, clearly set in her ways. “I came to pick up flowers, not to get advice from the handy man! I demand to speak to the manager. I’m sure he’d like to know that you are telling tales about plants rather than cleaning up around here.”

She looks around the store, beady eyes assessing with an uppity expression on her face. Despite the insults, Liam’s face doesn’t change, pleasant smile still firmly in place as he nods once, murmuring, “I’ll go get him,” before spinning on his heel and making his way towards the back room.

The woman nods, probably feeling justified, and turns to glance at Zayn briefly, scrunching her nose up as if something in the room smells. Zayn thinks she probably caught a whiff of her own stinky attitude.

Zayn is 100% a professional adult, which is why he feels the need to wave with a manic smile on his face. The woman acts as though Zayn struck her with lightning, back ramrod straight as she whips her head back forward, just in time to see Liam emerging from the backroom.

Both Zayn and the woman glance behind Liam, looking for the aforementioned manager, but after a few moments, it was apparent that no one else was behind him.

Before the woman gets the change to complain though, Liam opens his mouth with a big smile and says, “Hi, I’m Liam, the manager here. What can I help you with ma’am?” while pointing to where Liam took a sharpie and added the word ‘manager’ beneath his usual handwritten ‘Hi my name is.. Liam’ nametag.

The woman splutters in indignation for a minute, clearly not expecting Liam to respond in the way he did. Before she gets too far into her bitter ranting, Liam interrupts, politely of course, because Zayn has learned that everything Liam does is polite. Even when he’s subtly insulting someone, he manages to remember his manners.

“I know you don’t want my advice, but I am trying to look out for your best interest ma’am,” he begins, speaking firmly and commanding attention. “We do have some French hydrangeas in greenhouse three if you’d like to look some over, but I do think your chosen placement will be detrimental to the life of your flowers.”

Liam reaches underneath the counter and removes a thick book which he sets down gently. “If you’d like, you can look in here for the ideal growing condition of hydrangeas. I didn’t write this book, so it isn’t my personal opinion.”

The woman looks like she can’t believe her own eyes and ears, but Liam seems to be finished with the conversation. He slides the book to the side with a kind smile as he says, “if that’s all you need, I’m going to help the gentleman behind you.”

The woman huffs, grabbing the book and stalking off in the direction of the door that leads to the greenhouses, the door slamming behind her with a resounding bang moments later. Liam’s shoulders drop as she disappears, tension bleeding out of his shoulders almost instantly.

Zayn steps up to the counter with an easy smile on his lips, hands in his pockets. “She seems pleasant,” he comments casually, and Liam huffs out a laugh, scrubbing a hand over his face.

“Not exactly the word I’d use, but I try not to use that kind of word on women anyways,” Liam quips, and Zayn chuckles in agreement.

“What brings you in then?” Liam asks, eyes scanning over Zayn’s face slowly as he speaks. “You didn’t manage to kill off that plant, did ya?”

“Hey, fuck you,” Zayn pouts at Liam, “You said I didn’t do anything wrong the first time!”

Liam eyes scrunch up as he giggles, and Zayn struggles to remain standing after witnessing the full blown powers of the sun aka Liam Payne when happy. Zayn resolves to make Liam laugh as much as he can for the remainder of this visit.

“And if you must know,” Zayn continues, “I came in to get a bird bath for my garden. It looks a bit bare and I’m sure the birds will appreciate it.”

Liam makes a noise of acknowledgement, nodding his head as he walks around the counter. “I’m not sure how many bird baths we have in stock right now, but we can take a look,” he says, motioning for Zayn to follow him with a wave of his arm. They make their way outside, Zayn praying they don’t run into the woman on the way to wherever they are going.

Liam bypasses the greenhouses, leading Zayn into the huge garage near the back of the property. He slides open both of the massive garage door, muscle flexing and twisting deliciously in his biceps as he bends to heave them upwards one by one. Zayn does his best to ogle without looking like he’s ogling. It would be easier with sunglasses, or a newspaper with holes cut out for his eyes, but Zayn will work with what he’s got.

They both peer inside, sunlight illuminating the dust floating through the air. There are a lot of various items inside, everything from patio sets to lawnmowers neatly arranged in rows for easy access.

“Bird baths are this way,” Liam says, weaving his way towards the back left corner where Zayn can see some assembled pieces on display with corresponding boxes stacked against the wall. He nearly trips over the end of a watering hose that unraveled into the walkway, and Liam apologizes for the mess.

“We started putting things away earlier this year because a couple of the employees that go to uni will be gone for all of August on some kind of trip and I didn’t feel like doing it all myself,” he explains, coming to a stop in front of what has to be thirty different styles of bird baths.

Zayn stares, thinking to himself that he probably should have thought about what kind of bird bath he wanted before coming over here on a whim, but also Zayn had no idea he’d have this many choices.

“That’s a lot of bird baths,” he says slowly, instantly wanting to face palm, because wow, no shit Sherlock. Zayn is really on top of it today.

But Liam just laughs while nodding. “Do any of them stand out to you right away?” he asks, running his fingers along the edge of the one closest to them absentmindedly.

Zayn looks over them again, finally pointing out a small marble one buried a few rows deep in the cluster. “That one looks interesting.”

Liam hums in agreement, picking up bird baths to move them out of the way, creating a path so Zayn can examine his choice up close. Zayn watches closely as Liam bends over to lift the bird baths, muscles bunching up and Liam lets out a tiny grunt in surprise at the weight of the final one.

“Enjoying the view?” Liam breathes as he sets it down to the side, calling Zayn out and making him flush. This man has no shame, Zayn has come to learn.

“Shut up,” Zayn mumbles, jerking forward to run his hand over the smooth marble finish. It’s a nice bird bath, but something isn’t quite right.

“Not the one?” Liam asks from behind and Zayn shakes his head. “Keep looking then,” he encourages.

The next bird bath is made of a smooth red stone, and Liam only has to move one bird bath for Zayn to get a closer look only to turn it down as well.

The next one he picks is also made of marble, with beautiful birds etched into the stone around the edges. Liam has to move four others for Zayn to take a look, and Zayn makes his decision just as Liam’s arms hook around his waist, his chin coming to rest on Zayn’s shoulder.

“This it?” he murmurs, and Zayn nods, pressing back gently into Liam’s embrace.

“Good choice,” Liam approves, tightening his arms briefly as he turns his head to press a soft kiss to Zayn’s jaw.

“Are you talking about the bird bath or you?” Zayn teases, and Liam hums thoughtfully as if he has to consider the question.

“I must say, you do have impeccable taste, darling,” Liam drawls, dragging out the pet name just to see Zayn blush and roll his eyes.

Zayn tugs away, turn around to plant his hands against Liam’s chest. The heat of the man’s skin radiates through his shirt, and Zayn feels the warmth on his palms, lets it start a fire in his belly.

“Are you coming over tonight, then?” Zayn asks lowly, eyes undoubtedly dark and Liam sucks in a breath as he registers the shift in mood, nodding slowly. Zayn tracks his movements like a predator, watching closely as Liam sucks his lower lip into his mouth and then releases it. He wants to duck closer, to taste the moisture left behind, to dive in deeper and explore the depths that Liam has to offer.

It’s not the time or place though, even though Liam would probably let Zayn do whatever he wants in that moment.

One of them needs to have a level head, and it won’t be Liam.

“Perfect,” Zayn exclaims brightly, his too-chipper tone shattering the tension in the air. “Can you bring the bird bath when you come then? I have to run by the office and drop off a couple files. Thanks, love.”

Zayn scoots by Liam gingerly, careful not to rub against the other man, lest he fall victim to the warmth of Liam’s hands and the broadness of his chest.

He leaves Liam there, flustered and looking so, so handsome nonetheless, anticipation settling in Zayn’s bones as he thinks of the night ahead of them.

***

Liam does bring the bird bath with his when he comes by. The sun has already set by the time he pulls into Zayn’s driveway and lifts the box out of the back of his truck. He leaves it on the porch with the promise of setting it up before leaving for work in the morning, and tugs Zayn inside to escape the mosquitos that are out in droves as summer wraps up.

Zayn follows pliantly, as Liam pulls him through the house to the kitchen where Zayn already has pasta plated for them to eat by the TV. Liam tucks his feet under Zayn’s thigh as they settle on the couch, slurping up noodles noisily in between stories of the customers that came in to the store today.

When they finish, Liam takes Zayn’s plate along with his own to the kitchen, returning minutes later with damp hands and dark eyes.

Liam circles his fingers around Zayn’s wrist, dragging him up and through the house towards the bedroom that’s starting to feel a lot less like Zayn’s and a lot more like _theirs_ , kicking the door closed behind them.

***

Zayn’s family is due to come over in a little more than two weeks when Liam has the idea of installing a fire pit in Zayn’s backyard.

“Think about it, babe,” Liam coaxes, “you could have a fire when the sun goes down to keep the young ones warm.”

Zayn rolls his eyes, not even looking up from where he’s playing an intense round of Candy Crush. “My cousins will spend every waking second running around like little banshees. The last thing we need is a fire for them to trip and fall into.”

Zayn can feel Liam pouting from across the room where he’s lying sprawled on the floor.

“But Zayyyyyyn,” Liam whines, “I think it’ll make the yard look amazing, and it’ll be great for fall cookouts.”

And Zayn is a weak man when it comes to Liam and his big brown cow eyes and his plush pouty pink lips, so they both know it’s only a matter of time until he gives in and lets Liam do whatever he wants. Zayn still puts up a good fight though; it’s the principle of the thing.

***

Zayn goes with Liam to pick out the stone for the fire pit, and helps him haul it out of the truck and around the house to the backyard. Liam pays him in kisses, and Zayn happily accepts the payment.

Together, they dig up the sod and lay foundation stones several inches in the ground for stability, pouring a concrete mix and adding a second layer before heading in for the rest of the day.

Liam winds up taking a day off later in the week to finish the project without telling Zayn, so he comes home from the office to find a brand new fire pit and a very sweaty Liam in the yard. Liam accepts his scolding like a champ, and later tells Zayn that the massage he got after a shower was more than enough to make up for all the heavy physical labor.

Zayn swats at him, telling him that flattery will get him nowhere. Nowhere new that is. He’s already in Zayn’s pants, so why bother with small talk.

Liam splutters at Zayn’s crude remarks, but takes full advantage of his access to Zayn’s pants nonetheless. Smart man.

***

They spend the morning of the gathering chopping vegetables and laying out enough disposable dishes and silverware for everyone to use. Liam dusts the living room and vacuums, and Zayn could just kiss him for all the effort that he’s putting in for a family that isn’t even his. (Yet, that is.)

Liam is hesitant to stick around when Zayn’s family is due to arrive, but Zayn insists, wrapping his fingers around Liam’s wrist and pulling him into Zayn’s side so he can wrap a snug arm around his waist.

“You spent all that time cleaning and building a fire pit only to run at the sight of a few women and children?” Zayn teases, and Liam relents, relaxing into Zayn’s side with minimal complaining.

Once Zayn’s mum gets ahold of Liam, there’s no way he can leave. Zayn leaves him in the kitchen to help his mum and aunts finish up lunch while he shows his little cousins around the yard, proudly pointing out plants in his garden.

“Can I eat this?” his cousin holds up a tomato that he yanked from the plant moments before. Zayn laughs, nodding. At least someone will eat the nasty things, he thinks.

“Take it inside and ask Aunt Tricia to wash it first though.” Zayn instructs, watching as more of his cousins tug off their own tomatoes and charge inside as well.

Lunch is a chaotic affair as always, people spilling out of every corner of Zayn’s home, and milling about in the backyard. Zayn barely gets two words in with Liam before he’s dragged away by another one of his aunts who pinches Liam’s cheeks. Liam seems to be in a state of constant blushing, clearly not expecting this level of attention and love from Zayn’s family.

“Where did you meet that attractive young man, pota?” His Daadi’s voice startles him initially, and then when her words register he begins to splutter. She laughs, amused at her ability to leave her grandson speechless.

“Just answer the question,” she interrupts, raising an eyebrow, daring Zayn to protest. Zayn just sighs, hanging his head.

“At the gardening store,” he mumbles, praying she won’t connect the dots. Alas-

“Ah, so that’s how you kept that plant alive,” she chuckles, curling her small hand against the nape of Zayn’s neck to play with the baby hair there. “I figured you had some help. After all, gardening isn’t really your thing, is it?”

“Not really, no” Zayn admits, pressing back against her cool fingers. “But Liam is very much my thing.”

Ah yes. Eloquent as ever.

His Daadi doesn’t laugh though, just looks at Zayn with curious, but knowing eyes. “He’s a good one,” she says slowly, and Zayn agrees wholeheartedly.

And then, as if he’s proving them right, they watch as one of Zayn’s smallest cousins toddles up to Liam, bumping into his legs and latching onto his jeans, his tiny fists holding fast in an iron grip to keep himself upright. Liam looks down in surprise, still talking to Zayn’s uncle as he shoots the little boy a smile.

His Daadi squeezes the back of his neck as Liam bends down to scoop up his cousin, blowing a raspberry into his neck to make the child squeal with laughter.

“Keep this one, yeah?” she says, stepping away from Zayn and wandering into the yard to find her husband. Zayn watches her go fondly, before stepping inside to help his mother with the dishes.

By the time they rejoin the rest of the family outside, his cousins have managed to get Liam involved in a game of chase, Liam growling and running after all the children as they shriek and move as fast as the legs carry them. His family is watching fondly, clearly happy that someone is giving them a break from their parenting duties.

When Liam catches sight of Zayn, though, he proclaims, “alright, everyone get Uncle Zayn,” and suddenly the brood turns into a well-organized mass headed straight for him. Zayn braces for impact from a dozen small children and one oversized man child.

The bruises and grass stains are totally worth it, he thinks.

***

Later, they are lying in bed curled up together, everyone finally on their way back to their own homes for the night, when Zayn is struck with a random memory.

“Hey Liam,” he whispers, just in case Liam has already dozed off for the night. Liam hums, sounding drowsy but still awake enough. Zayn lifts himself up to hover over Liam, eyes adjusting until he can make out soft lips, smooth skin graced with stubble and a pair of tired eyes looking back at him.

“You know that sign you have hanging in the shop behind the counter?” he asks, and Liam looks at him curiously.

“I love you from my head tomatoes,” Liam murmurs in response, and Zayn nods.

“Yeah that one! I honestly thought you were going to be some old wrinkly lady when I saw that,” Zayn giggles, and Liam smiles weakly, closing his eyes.

“I’d make a hot old lady,” Liam mumbles, exhaustion creeping into his tone, and Zayn hums in agreement, lowering himself onto Liam’s chest and leaning up to mouth at the underside of his jaw.

“I do though, you know,” Liam says suddenly, and Zayn pauses, holding his breath as he waits for Liam to clarify. “Love you from my head tomatoes, that is,” Liam adds sleepily. “Now please go to sleep, babe.”

Liam falls silent and his body goes slack as he seems to give into his exhaustion, and Zayn wonders if he’s already dreaming himself. A quick pinch to his own hip tells Zayn that he’s very much awake. Zayn nudges at Liam’s side, and he hums again, sounding more annoyed.

“I don’t even like tomatoes though,” Zayn whispers, and Liam sighs, rolling over on top of Zayn huffily.

“That’s all you got out of that conversation?” he asks, sounding fond and exasperated all at once. “I’m not asking you to like tomatoes. Just to love me.”

Zayn relishes in the feeling of Liam on top of him, pinning him down with the heat and weight of his body, but he still feels weightless at the easy way that Liam confesses his love for Zayn.

“Well, you’re in luck,” Zayn responds cheekily, “I already love you. Not sure that I would eat a tomato for you though.”

Liam groans, muttering something along the lines of ‘what am I getting myself into’ before pressing their lips together to stop Zayn from continuing any conversation.

And Zayn isn’t going to complain with that strong of an argument.

(And maybe, just maybe, one day in the distant future, Zayn might try a tomato, if only to make Liam happy.)

***

The light in Liam's eyes and huge smile on his face when Zayn takes a tiny bite of the tomato slice in front of him makes up for the disgusting taste, and the sound of Liam’s laughter as Zayn bends over the trashcan to spit out the offending fruit makes Zayn slightly less nauseous.

All in all, it’s totally worth it.


End file.
